I'm A Math Idiot, So What? - Chapter 41

I carried the coffee bread and a pair of charms upstairs, bending down as I entered the meeting room. Inside, slides were being projected, and the room was filled with three rows of people. They were all tech-oriented, information workers, and meetings here usually meant discussing business matters, without the bureaucratic atmosphere typical of formal gatherings. The discussion was lively, with some people practically sitting on the table and one half-reclining on a swivel chair by the blackboard, his hair a chaotic mess that resembled a straw nest, like a poor casualty caught in the crossfire.

Once I adapted to the lighting inside, I spotted Fang Congxin in the corner, secretly pressing his hand against his stomach while talking about some terms I didn’t understand. I walked over, placed my items on the table, and tried to slip away quietly. As I reached the door, I suddenly remembered I had forgotten the charms and had to hunch back to retrieve them. Just then, I noticed Fang Congxin staring at the penguin, looking confused yet intrigued.

I quickly aimed for the charms with the precision of a swimmer touching the wall, but unfortunately, Fang Congxin seemed as agile as a leopard, with keen instincts. Despite my surprise attack, he managed to dodge to the side, holding the charm in his other hand, glancing at me and saying, “Is the coffee shop downstairs part of Tencent? Why are they giving out QQ products?” I felt a rush of irritation. No wonder the penguin looked so familiar.

“How could this be QQ! QQ’s scarf is red! Plus, their female penguin wears a bow on her head! Quickly give it back to me.” Following my words, he handed me the penguin with the necklace. I squinted at him, “What’s with this process of returning items? Shouldn’t it be one at a time?”

He replied, “Oh, I have to say, this penguin is actually quite handsome, matching my image too. Since my phone lacks a charm, why not just give it to me?”

“With your bare Apple phone, where would you even attach it?”

“I’m switching to Huawei tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you using a brand-new iPhone?”

“I support domestic products and embrace 5G.”

“Have you ever seen someone who talks to clients while carrying a cartoon charm? You’re not even the QQ spokesperson! I didn’t say this looked like QQ; I meant to say… oh, this tarnishes your domineering CEO image.”

Fang Congxin grew impatient, “Hey, Lin Meng, after all the effort I’ve put into teaching you these days, you’re arguing with me over one charm. Fine, let’s first settle your lesson fee according to the contract.”

“Aren’t I just treating my mentor to a cup of coffee?”

“Lesson fee.”

“And a croissant.”

“Lesson fee.”

“Goodbye, walking recorder.” Just as I was about to stand up, Brother Sun appeared beside me, shoving his phone toward me and saying, “Xiaomeng, here’s the passcode.”

I took it from him, “What’s the password? Oh, I remember now; it’s the first six digits of your birthday in binary.” The strange logic of these tech guys really leaves one speechless.I quietly stepped out of the meeting room. Before I even got a chance to play a round, my phone received an email notification. Fang Congxin sent me a set of “40-minute enhanced training” exercises, asking me to send them to him before lunch. I closed the email and picked up Brother Sun’s phone to start my battle. Fang Congxin sent another warm message: “I define lunchtime as 11 o’clock.” I pretended not to see it and continued focusing on the game.

After playing for a while, I felt like something was off. Even though I had withdrawn from the scene for many years, my ability to scout enemy situations hadn’t weakened a bit. After enduring countless frightening stares from my homeroom teacher peering through the window during my years of study, I had developed a keen sense to notice oddities in my surroundings while immersed in an activity. For example, after skillfully completing a level this time, I sensed two beams of intense light coming from the southeast corner of the office. I looked up toward the source of the light. By the glass door of the meeting room, Fang Congxin was staring at me with a coffee cup in his hand, giving me a piercing look.

“Do- your- homework,” he mouthed at half-speed to make it easier for me to read his lips. Thanks to the countless mental reconstructions I performed after being scared senseless for years, I obediently put my phone away, stood up straight, crossed my hands over my stomach, and bowed 90 degrees toward him: “Ha!” I dashed to type on my phone for nearly an hour and submitted it just in time before the 11 o’clock deadline.

Within five minutes, I received a reply from Fang Congxin. “Your performance deserves a second look,” he said. “Thank you very much.”

“Your performance reminded me of a classic math problem.”

“Oh?”

“When both the inlet and outlet of a reservoir are opened at the same time, when will it be filled?”

“Oh.”

“Is your outlet the Huangguoshu Waterfall? Can you close the valve?”

“Just tell me how many answers I got right.”

“Two.”

“There are actually two right answers!”

“…You’d better wait for me at home tonight! I need to show you a thing or two!”

This guy really knows how to teach a lesson, but where did he learn such fierce words? I furrowed my brows, looking like an old man checking his phone on the subway.

“Senior—” A pleasant female voice suddenly floated down from above me.It’s over. Tong Xiao is even more formidable than our homeroom teacher back in the day. I wasn’t sure if she had seen the content on my phone. I quickly pressed the lock screen button with my left hand and looked up to put on a social smile. “Hello, Tong Xiao, just call me Lin Meng.”

“I’m new here and there’s a lot I don’t understand, so I’ll need your guidance,” she said, handing me an unopened tube of L’Occitane hand cream. This made my pack of instant oatmeal in my pocket feel extremely inadequate. Besides, if she’s casually giving me L’Occitane as a token for asking for a bit of guidance at work, what should I give her when I officially seek her advice on math later? Just thinking about it made me push her gift back.

“Oh, it’s fine! We don’t have much interaction besides occasionally sitting in the same office. Even if you did work in our department, with your intelligence, you could learn the little tasks I have in no time. No need to be polite about it.” Saying this made it sound like I was worth nothing, so I shifted my tone to uplift myself: “I’m just here to enjoy some leisure.”

“Oh?” She raised her eyebrows, looking quite intrigued. I proudly opened my phone and showed her my latest level record. She looked on with interest. “Is this a match three game? What’s this?”

“This is an item; it can swap the layout. This one can eliminate individual color blocks…” I explained each one to her. After listening intently, she summarized, “It doesn’t seem that useful.” As an expert, I advised, “It does have some use in critical moments.”